JinKo are a Chinese company with several manufacturing plants around the World.
They manufacture hundreds of millions of panels a year. 2nd largest on the 'Tier 1' list.
JinKo have four different panels available in Perth at the moment.

415W 'P' type - 1722mm x 1134mm, 21.25% efficient, half-cell mono, black frame, 15 yr warranty.
440W 'P' type - 1868mm x 1134mm, 20.77% efficient, half-cell mono, black frame, 12 year warranty.
415W 'N' type - 1855mm x 1029mm, 21.74% efficient, half-cell mono, black frame, 25 year warranty.
470W 'N' type - 1903mm x 1134mm, 21.78% efficient, half-cell mono, black frame, 20 year warranty.

There was also a 390W "all-black" N type, which was in reality the 415W panel with a black backsheet.
Black backsheets absorb more heat and make the panel a little less efficient which is why it was rated at 390W.
It's gone. which is a shame, because there is a strong market for 'all-black' panels because they look better.

I have to say I am perplexed as to why there is a different warranty for each panel.
More to do with competition I suspect than anything else.
The "P" type panels are cheaper than the 'N' types.
You should expect that because 'N' type has always been synonymous with 'Premium' like SunPower Maxeon, REC Alpha and until a few weeks ago, LG NeOn (now quit solar).
The thing is though, that the price difference between these JinKo 'P' type and 'N' types is really small. A few hundred bucks for a system, not thousands of dollars.

In my view, getting a system of 415W 'N' types with a 25 year warranty makes total sense.
'N' types are also a really good 'fit' for our local rules.
16 x 415W = 6.64kW. That is just under the absolute maximum of 6.66kW for a 5kW inverter without a battery.
If you have an inverter like Huawei that allows 200% oversizing, (10kW of panels on a 5kW inverter with a battery) then
again, the 415W panel is a great fit. 24 x 415W = 9.96kW.

What's the difference between a 'P' type and 'N' type?
It's all about how quickly the output reduces over time.
JinKo warranty that their 'P' types will degrade at no worse than 0.55% a year and their 'N' types at 0.4% a year.
They will warranty that to 25 years for 'P' types and 30 years for 'N' types.
What it really means is that as every year goes by, the output difference in favour of the 'N's will compound by 0.15% a year.
Not much, granted, but every little helps as long as you aren't paying through the nose for it.


Would I put JinKo panels on my own roof?
Absolutely, especially the 'N' types with their 20-25 year defect warranty.
We have installed JinKo for many years with no issues at all.
If you want a quote for solar with JinKo panels then call us on...

(08) 6102 2527

or email

This review was written by Andrew MacKeith, Solar4Ever service manager since 2011.
Most recent update April 2021